Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Jeopardizing An Annuity
When a company has a monopoly, its worst enemy is itself. This might be the case with Microsoft and its operating systems -- or, at least its newest operating system, Vista. The start-up problems with the software are such that people are going out of their way to avoid it until the first "fix" is issued.
It is to Microsoft's advantage that operating systems are annuities for the company -- guaranteed cash flow -- once the system is introduced because everybody, except a minority of Apple and Linux users, are stuck with what Microsoft provides. One wonders, however, how long a company can get away with this. No competitor has proved viable so far, but nevertheless, Microsoft has subtracted from its reputation with this bloated code that doesn't do what the company wanted it to do. The situation says something about Microsoft and its competitors -- none of it good.
It is to Microsoft's advantage that operating systems are annuities for the company -- guaranteed cash flow -- once the system is introduced because everybody, except a minority of Apple and Linux users, are stuck with what Microsoft provides. One wonders, however, how long a company can get away with this. No competitor has proved viable so far, but nevertheless, Microsoft has subtracted from its reputation with this bloated code that doesn't do what the company wanted it to do. The situation says something about Microsoft and its competitors -- none of it good.
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